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 ince the success of the original
"Anaconda" back in 1997, there has been an absolute flood of
similar creature feature/nature runs amok films. Apart from a few high
profile efforts such as "Lake Placid", the vast majority of films
involved in this resurgence have been shoddy, direct to rental offerings,
predominantly released by the 'Nu Image' company, whose name has rapidly
become associated with quickie, substandard productions.
Despite the occasional presence
of recognisable, but distinctly 'D' list stars such as Casper Van Dien
(whose career failed to take off after "Starship
Troopers", and was quickly reduced to starring in the likes of
"Python"), these films are packed with terrible CGI effects,
virtually identical plotlines, and worst of all, very little in the way of
actual creature rampages, making them nothing more than inferior copies of
their old 1950s counterparts. Thankfully, this cycle appears to be running
out of steam at last, with the genre resorting to gimmicky films such as
"Boa vs.
Python" to hold onto its rapidly dwindling viewer base.
Things seem to have come full circle with the release
of "Anacondas", the inevitable sequel to "Anaconda",
predictably shorn of the original's star cast and reasonably large budget.
The sequel is an almost carbon copy of its predecessor, and it goes
without saying that there is nothing new here, and there is no attempt to
rock the boat. As such, "Anacondas" is competently made, fairly
atmospheric and provides reasonable entertainment for viewers looking for
an old fashioned throwback to the uncomplicated days of creature feature
cinema.
The plot begins with the flimsiest of setups, as a
group of research scientists convince their corporate sponsors to fund an
expedition to Borneo in order to find an orchid with regenerative
properties, which they claim will be 'bigger than Viagra'. Once there, the
scientists run into trouble in no time, wrecking their ramshackle boat
after being pulled down a waterfall. As they attempt to trek through the
thick jungle back to safety, they are picked off by giant anacondas,
conveniently lurking in the area on account of mating season. The
expedition must also face danger from within their own ranks, as greed and
an obsession with finding the orchid take hold.
"Anacondas" is directed by Dwight Little,
an old hand at genre films and sequels, and who has "Halloween
4" and "Free Willy 2" amongst his credits. Here, Little
keeps things safe and by the numbers, straying little from the accepted
formula, and anyone even vaguely familiar with this type of film will
instantly feel at home. Although this obviously means that the film is
utterly predictable and filled with attempts at cheap scares, Little at
least makes good use of the conventions, especially the evocative setting,
complete with wild rapids, a seemingly infinite misty, sweaty jungle, and
a huge variety of exotic wildlife, all of which appear to be intent on
devouring the cast.
All of this makes for some entertaining scenes, some
of which are admittedly unintentionally amusing, such as when the rugged
boat captain (Johnny Messner, who has played similar militaristic roles in
films like "Tears
of the Sun") has a hand to hand battle with a huge and
unconvincing crocodile. In fact, most of the film is hard to take
seriously, though given the already ludicrous premise, this serves quite
nicely to add to its entertainment value. The characters are all
stereotypes, and in addition to the captain, we have the wise cracking
minority who wishes he was back in the city, the cold hearted bitch, the
beautiful but naïve research assistant, the money obsessed businessman,
and best of all, the sinister Brit scientist who has 'villain' written all
over his face.
It is debatable whether the script is cleverly tongue
in cheek, or is in fact remarkably stupid; either way, it provides many
laughs, mainly during scenes where the characters lament the loss of their
mobile phones. The film's best character is actually a monkey who is used
constantly to telegraph false scares, and who has countless scenes where
he is stealing fruit or causing general mischief. This is a time honored
role in such films, and the monkey performs admirably, and perhaps
arguably with more conviction than the rest of the cast.
Aside from being the very definition of the word
'pedestrian', the only real problem with "Anacondas" is that it
is unfortunately tame. Whilst the original film contained some nice scenes
of the snakes devouring their victims, the sequel has opted for a younger
target audience and actually only merits its rating through the oddly
frequent use of foul language. Although there is a reasonable body count,
there is no gore whatsoever, and since this lacking element becomes
apparent very quickly, the viewer has little to get excited about or look
forward to.
The special effects themselves veer wildly from the
impressive to the ridiculous, though they are at least frequent enough to
keep things moving. Some of the CGI does look amusingly awful, and there
are a couple of moments featuring animatronic snakes that make it very
hard to keep a straight face.
To be honest, this really sums up the whole
experience of watching "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood
Orchid", as it is entertaining, though often as a result of its
shortcomings. The bottom line is that, though it could certainly be
accused of being spectacularly unambitious, "Anacondas"
undeniably fulfills its modest aims, providing a slightly glossier version
of the recent spate of giant creature feature films. As such, it is not a
film which lies to or attempts to deceive its potential audience in any
way, shape or form, being the very spirit of 'You get what you pay for'.
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